A major water line has burst at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, flooding the museum building.
There is no word yet as to the cause of the burst but UBC Public Affairs tweeted at 4:22 p.m. that the water pipe has been shut off and water has been cleared. There is no visible damage to the collection and a full assessment is underway.
In 2010, the Museum of Anthropology completed a major $55-million renovation and expansion. The museum is located at the top of the cliffs of Point Grey and is one of the city’s largest museums at 80,000 square feet.
Built in 1976, the architecturally-unique museum was designed by the late Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson, housing 38,000 historical ethnic objects and 535,000 archaeological objects with some artefacts dating thousands of years in age. It draws in 150,000 visitors per year.
While it is best known for featuring Northwest Coast First Nations objects and art, forty per cent of the museum’s total collection originates from Asia.
#UBC Crews are dealing with a major water line burst at the Museum of Anthropology. Fire and Plant Ops on scene pic.twitter.com/wcscQeHoxu
— ScanBC (@ScanBC) January 29, 2014
MOA update: First responders on the scene. Reports of broken water main outside #MOA entrance. More info ASAP. @MOA_UBC
— UBC Public Affairs (@ubcnews) January 30, 2014
#MOA update: Marine Dr water pipe shut off. Water cleared from entrance/lobby. No visible damage to collection. Full assessment underway. — UBC Public Affairs (@ubcnews) January 30, 2014
More to come as this develops.
Feature image: Devin Kettle via Twitter (@cyclopoietes)
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